Is that a jig in your pocket…?

My current favorite tool is the Rocket jig, a pocket hole jig made by Kreg Tool Company. (On their website, Home Depot refers to it as the Rocket Pocket Hole System, which reminds me of a risqué Mae West joke.) This foolproof device clamps onto the edge of a board and allows you to drill perfectly angled holes from the face of the board into the edge.

It makes it easy to create super-strong butt joints for cabinet face frames. But I’m finding it has many other applications. For example, I’ve been building bookshelves in my new home office, and I’m using the pocket hole jig to secure the cases to the back wall. By drilling pocket holes through the top of the shelf (where you can’t see the hole), there’s no need to add complicated hardware or brackets. A couple of screws, and the bookshelf is anchored tight against the wall. I’ve also used the jig to attach blocking between studs, when you need a structural member on which to nail beadboard and other vertical paneling.

The best price I’ve found for the Rocket jig is on Amazon, where it costs $29.99. But if you go to the Home Depot website, you can get a full kit for $49.99; it comes with a jig, clamp and a special high-quality drill bit, plus a handful of the dedicated washer-head screws you need to use. And if you go to Rockler's site, you can buy nifty wooden plugs (in oak, maple, walnut or cherry) to fill the oblong holes.

What they don’t tell you until you buy it is that the jig works best with a corded drill, which provides a constant RPM. Who has one of those anymore? So I went out and bought a cheap Ryobi plug-in drill for about $30, also at Home Depot. (Those they stock in the store.) Then I “gave” the drill to my 14-year-old as a present, which of course I can “borrow” anytime I need to drill a pocket hole. Pretty sneaky, huh?